Earlier I wrote about a home for disabled children that I visited. Some of the children were clearly victims of terrible accidents. But recently I've determined that the rest were probably victims of genetics.
Look closely at the little boy in the picture and you'll see that his skin tone is as white as mine. His hair is coal black but it's obvious that it's been dyed. His natural hair is platinum blond and he has some form of albinoism. I've seen a number of these children during my time here and I finally inquired as to the cause.
In a world where marriages are always arranged, families examine the consequences of a marriage very carefully. If land is involved in the transaction, a family may have first cousins marry in order to keep the land in the family. The price they pay is genetic malformations. It's not that they are unaware of the reproductive consequences. They understand them but to the land owners, it's deemed an acceptable price to pay. To the kids who suffer, I'm sure it is not such a fair deal.
This little boy was in an orphage and he was delighted to meet someone who looked like him. we had a good laugh about our "whiteness". But I do wonder how many of these children met with very early childhood fatalities.
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